Most and Least Profitable Pitchers in Baseball

During a long and grueling MLB season, it becomes imperative for baseball bettors to find new edges to stay one step ahead of the sportsbooks. We at OddsShark have assembled lists of the most and least profitable pitchers to help push you in the right direction.

Best Money Pitchers

Many of the names in the most profitable group might come as a surprise but after his incredible first half that landed him a spot on the AL all-star team, it’s not shocking to see Jason Vargas at the top of the heap. In his 17 starts before the Midsummer Classic, Vargas accumulated a 2.62 ERA and a 12-3 record and he went into the break with his team winning eight consecutive games he started.

Knocked around a little to start the second half, however, the 34-year-old could be due for some regression and it might be a good time to sell high on Vargas.

One of the biggest shockers on this list is Angels’ righty Parker Bridwell. His team has earned a win in all but one of his seven starts so far and it’s not because they’ve been pouring in run support for the youngster. Since his call-up in late May, the Texan has put together a nice little overall ERA of 3.09 but he’s been spectacular on the road, giving up just four earned runs in 17.2 innings of work away from home.

It’s a small sample size but that’s good for us. It’s unlikely that his early success will affect betting lines much and the Angels should still offer some good value when it’s Bridwell’s turn in the rotation.

Best Money Pitchers

Player

Money Won

No. of Starts

ERA

Avg. Run Support

Jason Vargas

904.21

19

3.08

4.89

Mike Foltynewicz

889.67

19

3.82

5.32

CC Sabathia

858.97

16

3.44

5.44

Zach Davies

833.78

21

4.45

6.05

Parker Bridwell

772.33

7

3.09

4.29

Worst Money Pitchers

Having a bad ERA as well as a low run support average is a great formula for failure and it’s something these pitchers know all too well. Ricky Nolasco, the man who’s been hardest on the wallet, has the worst run support of any pitcher with 15 or more starts this season and he’s worked his way to an ugly ERA close to five.

That said, Mike Trout is back in the Angels lineup so the offense should start to come along. Given that Ricky’s team has been the underdog in seven of his last 10 starts, they might be worth a look the next time Nolasco lines up against a comparable opponent.

Finding themselves on the wrong side of this list, Rick Porcello and Justin Verlander have fallen back down to earth after their Cy Young-caliber seasons last year. Both guys have been absolute money pits in 2017 and although they haven’t received a lot of support on offense either, they’re not doing much to help themselves with ERAs in the mid-fours.

Verlander has also found himself in the middle of some trade chatter and if he’s dealt, watch out for inflated lines. The 34-year-old is not the same pitcher he was in 2012 but the public still likes to bet his team when he takes the mound instead of using their eyes to realize that Verlander is well over the hill.

Archived Articles

With basketball and hockey wrapping up, baseball is the only major North American team sport on the go which means wagering options are limited, and for casual bettors, America’s pastime can be tough to profit on. OddsShark has you covered, though, as we’ve compiled a list of the pitchers who make the most money for bettors and a list of those who are hardest on the wallet.

Best Money Pitchers

Skipping all that pesky rebuilding nonsense, the New York Yankees are back to being the Yankees after two short years without Derek Jeter and they are scoring runs at a ridiculous pace, taking a lot of pressure off their starting pitching staff. CC Sabathia has been one of the prime beneficiaries of the Yanks' No. 1 offense and with a record of 7-2, the aging – and growing – lefty has earned several wins he absolutely did not deserve.

He has, however, been pitching much better of late and has given up a total of just four runs over his last five starts. If he can continue to limit the damage and the Bronx boys can keep bombing, he and the Yanks will be a good bet going forward.

A pair of Rockies have made the list and that makes sense. Colorado has the second best record in baseball yet is still getting pegged as the underdog at a criminal rate. Because of this, the Rockies are making money hand-over-fist and a big reason for that has been their MLB-best ERA on the road.

With the volatile hurling conditions at Coors Field, that road metric is a pretty good indicator of how good their pitching staff actually is. Compound that with an offense that's scored the third most runs in baseball and you get the recipe for a winning team. The Rox will continue to be must-bets until books adjust the lines and stop assigning them insane value.

Best Money Pitchers

Player

Money Won

Avg. Run Support

ERA

CC Sabathia (NYY)

+843.25

6.33

3.66

Jeremy Hellickson (PHI)

+682.25

4.08

4.5

Kyle Freeland (COL)

+676.00

3.85

3.45

Dallas Keuchel (HOU)

+636.44

5.73

1.67

Antonio Senzatela (COL)

+517.57

6.92

3.84

Worst Money Pitchers

A pretty good stat to look at when deciding on whether or not to fade a pitcher is the differential between their ERA and average run support. The bigger that differential, the more times a pitcher is going to lose. Just look at Jered Weaver. He lost all nine of his starts before hitting the DL and the differential between his ERA and average run support was well over five.

He likely won't be back in the majors this season, or ever, but he's a good example of why we don't back bad pitchers on terrible teams. The rest of the guys in the top five haven't been quite as bad as Weaver but their teams have been just as impotent as the Padres at the plate with all of them other than the Angels falling in the bottom four in runs scored this season.

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